


Starry Eyed

by Ace_Of_Spades7



Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Actor Creativity | Roman "Princey" Sanders, Alternate Universe - Celebrity, Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Alternate Universe - College/University, College Student Anxiety | Virgil Sanders, Everyone Is Gay, Fluff, M/M, Making This Up As I Go, Prinxiety - Freeform, Remus is mentioned, Virgil is oblivious, but he doesn't really show up, but i had to include him cuz i love my trash rat, but only cuz there's some swearing, but we love him anyway, femboy!Patton, i rated it teen, logicality - Freeform, so let that be a warning to any young ears out there i guess
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-18
Updated: 2021-01-21
Packaged: 2021-03-16 04:27:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,894
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28825182
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ace_Of_Spades7/pseuds/Ace_Of_Spades7
Summary: Virgil Storm is a senior in college that's too busy trying to graduate and working at his part-time job as a barista to worry about love. Roman Kingsley is a famous A-list actor that keeps coming back to the Starry Cafe for one reason (and it isn't the delicious frappuccinos). Virgil has no idea about Roman's true identity and Roman wants to keep it that way. Can he convince Virgil to fall in love with him without his fame helping?
Relationships: Anxiety | Virgil Sanders/Creativity | Roman "Princey" Sanders, Logic | Logan Sanders/Morality | Patton Sanders
Comments: 7
Kudos: 38





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I'm pretty busy right now (I'm studying for midterms, running a club, and planning a D&D campaign) but I really liked this fic idea and wanted to roll with it! I don't know how consistent my upload schedule will be, but I'm determined to see this through 'til the end! :)

“Can I get your name?” Virgil Storm asks in the same monotone voice he uses with every customer.

“That depends. Can I get your number?” the man replies as he leans his elbow on the glass counter separating the two of them. Virgil looks up from the cup, Sharpie still poised to write down the name. The man flashes a smile that Virgil is sure makes all the girls swoon.

He’s seen this guy before. He comes in every day and orders the same thing. Caramel frappuccino--extra caramel, extra whipped cream.

Virgil gives the man one of his signature death glares. He’s here to sell coffee and that doesn’t mean he has to deal with random strangers flirting with him. Even if they are a bit cute. The man’s smile fades. He sighs and says, “Roman.”

Instead of the man’s name, Virgil quickly jots down “Princey” instead. He pauses for a moment before writing the number four beneath the name and then hands the cup to the barista next to him. The barista quickly makes the drink with an almost robotic efficiency and calls out the name Virgil wrote down.

Roman hesitates for a moment, unsure if it’s his drink or not, even though he’s the only customer currently in the Starry Cafe. He picks up the cup and examines the side. Roman looks at the number four for a moment before starting to laugh.

“Not really what I meant, but thanks anyway!” Roman calls out to Virgil as he continues to laugh. “I love the nickname by the way!”

Roman turns around so that Virgil can see the bright gold crown on the back of his red and white bomber jacket. The nickname definitely suits him.

Virgil rolls his eyes as Roman waves goodbye to him. He puts on a white baseball cap and a pair of sunglasses before leaving the coffee shop. As much as he hates to admit it, he loves that laugh of Roman’s. It resonates deep in his chest and reminds him of warm chocolate.

“What’s that guy’s deal?” Virgil asks the barista next to him, his eyes still fixed on the door where Roman exited a moment ago.

“I am not sure. He seems to be infatuated with you,” the barista, Logan Crofter, muses.

“But why? He doesn’t know anything about me,” Virgil responds. His eyes still haven’t left the door.

“If you are so curious about it, maybe you should ask him yourself. Based on his habits, I am sure he will be here tomorrow.”

Just as Virgil is about to respond, the door bursts open. A man walks in wearing khaki shorts, a blue shirt, and a gray cardigan tied around his waist. He quickly adjusts his round glasses with a freckled hand before bounding over to the counter.

“Hey there, Virge! How’s it going?” the man asks with a wide smile.

“I’m doing good, Patton. I’m assuming you’re here to pick up your boyfriend?” Virgil says to his best friend as Logan takes off his apron to reveal a dark blue shirt and tie.

“I sure am!” Patton says. The second Logan walks around the counter, Patton throws himself on him. He stands on the tips of his toes and plants a quick kiss on Logan’s lips. “I missed you LoLo,” he says. The tips of Logan’s ears redden as he leans down to kiss his boyfriend again.

“Get a room you two,” Virgil jokes as Logan pulls away. Logan blushes harder and Patton laughs.

“See you in class tomorrow, Virge!” Patton says as he grabs Logan’s hand and starts to leave the cafe.

“You better work on the project, Patton!” Virgil calls out.

“I will, I will,” Patton promises as the door slams shut behind him and Logan.

Virgil sighs and rolls his eyes. He loves his best friend, but sometimes Patton has trouble concentrating on important tasks like, for example, the huge group project his teacher assigned last month. The two of them need to write a full-length script by the end of the month if they want to graduate, which is a problem when Patton constantly gets distracted and Virgil’s anxiety stops him from writing.

The rest of Virgil’s shift is relatively painless. By the time it’s finally over, the sun has already set. Virgil takes off his apron and replaces it with his much comfier plaid purple sweatshirt. He leaves the coffee shop and breathes in the spring air. It’s humid but still cold enough that Virgil’s glad he has his trusty sweatshirt with him. He pulls on his headphones and plays some music as he walks the familiar route back to his campus. The city is just as alive as it always is, but Virgil tries not to get swept up in the loud noises and flashing lights. They overload his senses which make him nervous, which makes him panic, which makes him…

Virgil turns up the volume on his music a bit. After navigating through the city as quickly as he could (while skipping all of the most crowded areas), he finally arrives at his dorm room. He locks the door and collapses into his desk chair. He sits there for a minute, his thoughts loud in his head.

Virgil increases the volume a bit more to drown out the one thought that keeps repeating itself in his brain. He finishes his homework with the speed of someone that just wants to go to sleep and opens the document Patton shared with him over a month ago.

He stares at the almost empty doc. Minutes pass by, but he can’t seem to write what he’s thinking. _What if it isn’t good enough? It needs to be perfect or I’ll never graduate._ Another thirty minutes passes by. Why is it this hard for him to write a script? He’s been taking classes on this for the past four years, but now he can’t do it? Virgil glances at the clock on his desk. Midnight. Where did the time go? He sighs and closes the tab. He has an early class tomorrow morning, and he’ll be useless if he doesn’t get enough sleep. Another night of accomplishing nothing.

Virgil pulls himself out of his chair and walks over to the bathroom that he and the room next door shares. He pulls a makeup wipe out of the container and starts to rub it against his face, wiping away all of the eyeliner and stress from the day. He throws the wipe in the trash and washes his face with soap.

After drying his face on a towel, Virgil looks in the mirror. The purple dye in his hair is almost completely gone. He’s been so busy with classes and work that he hasn’t had enough time to re-dye it. It’s probably been a few months since he’s last touched it up.

Virgil leans out of the bathroom and looks at the clock again. 12:03. His class starts in eight hours.

Virgil looks back at his reflection. Most of the dye is gone, but his hair is still bleached. Virgil thinks for a moment. He can still function if he only gets seven hours of sleep.

Virgil steps out of the bathroom and walks over to his dresser. He places his headphones on the surface and picks up the bottle of purple hair dye.

 _I’ll work on my project while I’m dying my hair,_ Virgil reasons with himself. He quickly washes his hair in the sink and dries it as best as he can. He pours a bit of the hair dye into a disposable cup and pulls on a pair of gloves.

Virgil has always loved dying his hair. It’s a very therapeutic thing to do. He dips his fingers into the dye and starts to work it into a strand of hair towards the front of his face. He’s methodical in what he does and has a lot of time to think.

As Virgil continues to cover his head in hair dye, he tries to think of ideas for his script. Unfortunately, his heart has different plans. The bathroom is full of the grape scent of his hair dye and all he can do is wonder what Roman smells like. Probably caramel, considering how much of it he drinks.

Virgil desperately tries to think of something else. _Anything_ else. He doesn’t even know who this Roman guy is really. It’s like he told Logan earlier. Roman doesn’t know anything about him. And the same goes for him. He doesn’t even know Roman’s last name. All he knows is that he loves caramel frappuccinos with extra caramel and extra whipped cream.

Virgil coats the last strand of hair in dye and lets it fall against his face. He stands there for a moment, not sure what to do. Finally, he peels off his gloves and throws them in the trash. Virgil walks over to his desk and sets a timer for thirty minutes on his phone. Even though he’s been pretty unlucky with it so far, Virgil opens the script document again. As he waits for the timer to tick down, he tries to come up with _something_ to write down. The bright screen seems to bore into his soul, but Virgil finally comes up with a few ideas. He types them up just as his timer goes off.

Virgil quickly rinses the dye out of his hair before crawling into bed without bothering to dry it. He didn’t bother checking the clock before going to sleep, but he’s sure it’s around one in the morning.

Virgil curls up under his blanket, trying to fall asleep. Because when he’s awake all he can do is think about Roman and that’s the _last_ thing he wants.

But it happens anyway. All Virgil can hear is Roman’s warm chocolate voice repeating in his head. He’s glad he doesn’t have a roommate to see him there, lying in his bed, trying to cover his face with his pillow so he can pretend he isn’t blushing as he thinks of Roman and that girl-swooning smile of his. Apparently, it doesn’t just work on girls.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I didn't think anyone would actually read this so the support has been amazing! I've actually come up with a plan for this fic so I know where I'm going with this now. I ended up writing this chapter instead of doing my essay (whoops). I'll be pretty busy next week since midterms start but I'll try to update when I can!

_Oh god, I look like a grape._

Virgil rolled out of bed two minutes ago to prepare for his class, and now is the first time he’s actually seen his newly dyed hair. The color is a lot brighter than he remembers it being, and now his old anxieties are rearing their ugly heads.

_Everyone is going to be staring at me. Why did I ever think this was a good idea?_

Virgil sighs, and tries to ignore the negative thoughts bouncing around his head. There’s nothing he can do about it now. Virgil glances at the razor sitting on a shelf to his right. There is _one_ thing he can do to fix it.

Virgil’s gaze lingers on the razor for another moment before he shakes his head. If he shaved off his hair, he’d be even more noticeable. Instead, Virgil decides to muss up his hair a bit, apply a thick layer of eyeliner, and hope his hood hides the bright purple color.

Virgil slides on his headphones, grabs his bag, and starts running towards his class. He turns the volume up until he can’t anymore and looks directly ahead as he heads to class, so he isn’t really sure if people are staring at him or not. That’s the way Virgil likes it. If he can’t see anyone, he can pretend they don’t exist. Fictional people can’t judge him for his terrible late night decisions.

Virgil’s class ends quicker than he expects. Of course, he had only been half paying attention. His teacher had decided to show them a movie so they could analyze certain storytelling elements or something like that. At least, Virgil’s pretty sure that’s what they were supposed to be doing. He had spent the entire class trying to brainstorm some ideas for the script. He and Patton are going to meet up later to finally start writing, and Virgil needs to actually have something to write about.

\---

“Why is this so difficult,” Patton whines as he rubs his hands against his face in an attempt to jumpstart his brain.

“It’s because we like really different things,” Virgil says as he takes a sip from the can of espresso dangling from his hand. He stares at Patton’s cursor as it blinks in their empty document. He’s almost sitting upside down in Patton’s chair, and it’s a miracle his laptop hasn’t fallen onto the ground yet.

Virgil had arrived at Patton’s dorm twenty minutes ago, and the two of them still have nothing written down.

“That’s because the only movies you watch are the ones with that Remus Kingsley guy in them,” Patton says as he begins tapping random keys out of boredom.

Virgil shoots up. “Remus Kingsley isn’t just ‘some guy’, Patton! He’s amazing, he’s revolutionary, he’s…”

Patton shoots him a look and Virgil shuts his mouth. This isn’t the first time he’s gone on a tangent about Remus Kingsley to Patton before. But how can he not? Remus Kingsley is his favorite actor in the world. He’s starred in almost every B-horror movie made in the past five years, and made a reputation for himself as someone who can deliver both chilling and thought-provoking scenes in tandem.

And this was the problem Virgil and Patton had been having for the past few days. Virgil only likes obscure horror movies and Patton only watches fairy tales and fantasy films, so they can’t find any common ground for their script.

Patton takes a long sip from the cup of iced coffee next to him before his eyes go wide. “What if we combine the two?”

An inkling of a thought forms in the back of Virgil’s mind. He had come up with an idea like that earlier, but he had been too worried that Patton wouldn’t like it. But Patton just suggested they combine the two…

“What if the two main characters switch places? Like maybe a prince could be sent to a haunted house where someone was murdered and a typical horror movie protagonist is sent to a magical kingdom. And they have to find their way back or something.”

The idea hangs in the air. _It’s stupid. It’s dumb. It’ll never work._

“That’s genius, Virge!” Patton says as his eyes light up. Virgil can almost hear a record scratch in his head.

“It… is?” He says hesitantly.

“Of course!” Now that Patton has found an idea he likes, his brain is coming up with all sorts of ways to use it. “And the best part is, I’ve never seen a horror movie and you’ve never watched a fairy tale!”

“It is?” Virgil repeats. He’s still shocked that his idea was actually good enough to become their main option for their final project.

“It is! Because we can pretend to be the characters,” Patton explains. Virgil still isn’t really following what Patton’s saying, but he nods his head and starts to type up Patton’s ideas. “The prince has never been to a haunted house before and the horror movie guy has never been to a magical kingdom. It’s a whole new experience for them. Just like how watching a horror movie would be a whole new experience for me.”

Finally, Virgil understands what Patton’s getting at. “So we could watch those movies and pretend we’re in the characters situations.”

“Exactly!”

Virgil can practically feel the excitement rolling off Patton now that he has something to write about. Patton and Virgil spend the rest of their time writing down ideas for scenes.

After an hour, Virgil checks his phone and tells Patton, “I gotta go get ready for work. Are you gonna pick up Logan after his shift?”

Patton looks up from his laptop and nods.

“Then I’ll bring some of my horror dvds with me and you can grab them when you’re there.”

“Great! I’ll see you later!” Patton says as he quickly hugs Virgil before he leaves.

\---

Virgil hates working at the Starry Cafe for one particular reason. They won’t let him wear his hood up while he’s on his shift. And that means his bright purple hair is on display for everyone to see.

Almost as if on cue, the bell on the cafe’s door jingles and in walks Roman with that bright jacket and beautiful smile of his. He takes off his hat and sunglasses and walks up to the counter.

“I love your hair, Virgil,” Roman says. Strike that. There’s two reasons Virgil hates working at the Starry Cafe. He can’t wear his hood up, and he has to wear a nametag.

“You do,” Virgil says as he feels his cheeks start to heat up. He silently curses whoever or whatever it was that made Roman so cute.

“Of course! Purple is a very regal color.” Roman starts to smile even more if it’s possible, and Virgil knows what he’s about to ask next. “So do you want to go on a date with me?”

“No,” Virgil replies flatly.

Roman’s smile immediately turns to a pout. “I’ll have my usual then.”

Virgil takes a cup from the stack and writes Roman’s order on it. Logan prepares the drink and calls out the name, even though Roman’s right in front of him.

Roman takes a sip of his frappuccino before putting his hat and sunglasses back on. He starts to leave when Virgil remembers what Logan told him yesterday. _If you are so curious about it, maybe you should ask him yourself._

“Hey, Princey, what do you see in me anyway?” Virgil asks as Roman places his hand on the door handle. Roman turns around in surprise, almost as if he expected Virgil to have already forgotten about him.

“What?” He says, clearly caught off guard.

“I asked you why you’re so interested in me. Why do you want to date me instead of any other guy?”

Roman takes a moment to think. “I like that you’re brave. I don’t know any other people that would dye their hair a bright color like that. Well, except my brother. But he’s… a special case. And it doesn’t hurt that you’re cute as well.”

Virgil starts to blush again as he reaches up to touch his purple hair. He had spent all day worrying about what other people thought of his new look, and Roman thought he was brave because of it? Virgil would never describe himself as brave, and here Roman was tossing it around like he’d just slain a dragon.

“Just you wait, Virgil. I’ll get that date one day!” Roman says as he lets out a laugh. Virgil practically melts as he hears that smooth warm chocolate sound again. Roman starts to push open the door, the bell jingling in protest.

“We’ll see about that, Princey,” Virgil calls out as the door closes. He tries to hide his smile, but he’s sure Logan can see him blushing like crazy.

“If you like him and he likes you, why don’t you go on a date with him?” Logan asks.

“It’s not that simple, Logan. I can’t go on a date with him when I don’t know anything about him.”

“I’m sure you’re aware that you can, in fact, go on a date with Roman without knowing much about him. But if that is such an issue with you, then why don’t you try to learn more about him?”

As much as Virgil hates to admit it, Logan’s right. He keeps telling himself that he won’t date Roman because he doesn’t know anything about him, but it would be pretty easy to learn more about Roman. All he has to do is ask him.

The bell jingles again and Patton walks in with a bigger smile than usual. He always gets like this when he’s actually productive. He must have done a lot of planning for their script then.

“I’ve got a whole bunch of ideas rattling around in my brain!” Patton tells Virgil as he practically starts jumping with joy.

“I’m glad,” Virgil laughs as he grabs his bag of dvds from underneath the counter. He hands them over to Patton who eagerly takes them. “Here are all of the ones that I think could apply to our script.”

“And you made sure--”

“Yes, I made sure there are no spiders in any of them,” Virgil reassures.

“Good,” Patton says with a shiver, “because they’re so icky and gross. No project is worth sitting through that.”

Logan laughs as he makes his way around the counter and leans down to kiss his boyfriend. “The spiders would not be able to hurt you. And even so, I’ll be there to protect you.”

Virgil doesn’t know how many notes Patton will be taking when he’s too busy cuddling with Logan, but he lets it slide. Getting Patton to watch a horror movie is hard enough, so Virgil will try pretty much anything to convince him.

“I added a bunch of fairy tale movies to my watchlist and sent you the link,” Patton says as he shoulders the bag.

Just as Patton is about to leave, Virgil says, “Uh, Patton, can I ask you something in private?” Patton looks at Logan who nods and leaves to go wait in the car.

Virgil hesitates for a moment. Is he really about to ask Patton this? “How did you first know you liked Logan?”

“I guess I just knew,” Patton replies after thinking for a moment.

“C’mon, Patton, if I was looking for an answer like that, I’d watch a sappy rom-com.”

“Okay, okay. I guess it was when I’d start thinking of him at random moments. Like, I’d be doing my homework and I would just start to think, ‘I wonder what Logan’s doing right now. I wish he was here with me.’ Then I’d get all embarrassed about it. That’s probably the tell-tale sign: getting embarrassed about thinking of someone.”

“Thanks, Patton,” Virgil says with a smile.

“That’s what best friends are for,” Patton replies as he starts to leave. “And if you get a boyfriend you better introduce him to me!”

“I know, I will,” Virgil says with a laugh. The door closes with another jingle of the bell and then Virgil is all alone in the coffee shop.

 _Getting embarrassed about thinking of someone._ The thought dwells in Virgil’s mind. Patton must be right. Virgil never starts to blush when he thinks about Patton or Logan. It’s only when he starts to think of Roman and that laugh of his that his face gets all hot and he has to cover it with a pillow.

Maybe Virgil _does_ like Roman.

Virgil thinks of all the times Roman’s tried to ask him out. It would be easy to get a date with him considering Roman’s practically throwing himself at him.

_But what about the project? You haven’t even started the script yet._

Shit, why does his subconscious have to be such a buzzkill like that. It is right, though. Virgil has to write an entire script in the next month, not to mention watch all the movies Patton just sent him.

 _It’s settled then,_ Virgil thinks to himself. _I’ll finish writing the script, and then I’ll go on a date with Roman._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun fact: after writing the first chapter on Monday, I re-dyed my hair purple (I had dyed it pink on Friday but it didn't show up too well) so now I feel just like Virgil lol. I also realized that writing a romance is gonna be hard since I'm an awkward asexual with little experience in love, but I guess we'll see how it goes.


End file.
